Just Friends
by Professor Wolfsbane
Summary: Ash and Misty don't want to ruin their friendship. So what will they do? Faintly Pokeshippy. Set between Hoenn and the Battle Frontier. The fic was previously posted on The Pokemon Tower with the name of Aussie Wolf, and on DeviantArt under the name of BossCandi. If you see it anywhere else, please tell me.


_**Just Friends**_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, or anything for that matter, so lay off, okay?! /jk  
**Summary:** Ash and Misty don't want to ruin their friendship.  
**Note:** This fic is set in season 8, between the episodes 'right place, right Mime' and 'a real Cleffa hanger' when Misty was travelling with the group. It's easy to put it here, as they went straight from Pallet Town to Mt. Moon, leaving space for anything to happen.

"**Okay guys, we'll camp here for the night, okay?**"  
"**Oh, goody.**" Misty said sarcastically. "**It's been so long since I spent the night in the middle of the bug-infested Viridian Forest, I've almost missed it. Almost.**" She rolled her eyes, before grinning cheekily.  
"**But, I'll have Gyarados aim his Flamethrower better next time.**"

Later on that evening, after camp had been set up and supper inhaled by Ash, the gang slowly relaxed and started talking.  
"**Wow, I'd almost forgotten what a great cook Brock was.**" Misty sighed contently. "**Not to mention what a pig Ash is.**"  
"**Hey!**"  
May giggled as Ash crossed his arms and glared at Misty.  
"**I'm not the one who shouldn't be let too close to the fire, little miss fart-a-lot.**" He finished smugly as Misty blushed.  
"**Oh, you wanna play dirty, do you? Fine, Mr. Blue-boxer-shorts-with-Pikachu-faces!**"  
It was Ash's turn to blush as the clearing erupted with laughter.  
"**Poor Pikachu!**" Max snorted as he fell backwards off the log he was sitting on, still laughing.  
"**Now, now, kids. Let's try to keep things civil, okay?**" Brock stood up and tried to calm to the looming full-scale argument. He'd gotten to know the warning signs pretty well by now. "**Misty, keep your gas to yourself. Ash, keep your underwear to yourself.**" He added with a smirk.  
"**Hey!**"

"**Admit it, you like each other.**" May teased later on as they were getting ready for bed.  
"**No I don't!**"  
"**No we don't!**"  
May grinned wisely. "**Then why do you '_argue_' so much, huh?**" she gave the universal double quotes sign.  
"**Because, he's an annoying jerk!**"  
"**Cause, she's a brat!**"  
"**Admit it, you're in lurve.**"  
"**No way!**" Ash turned away as his face flushed slightly.  
"**Forget it, May.**" Misty stood up and dropped her sleeping-bag on the ground. "**I love Ash, but only as a friend.**"  
Everyone stopped and stared at her.  
"**Actually, more like a brother.**" She nodded. "**Yeah, he's more like a little brother to me. The annoying little runt of a brother I never had.**" She pulled a face at him and went back to arranging her sleeping-bag.  
Ash was stunned. '_She thinks of me, like a brother?!_' He mentally shook himself. "**Yeah. Misty's like a brother to me, too. Sister, I mean sister.**" He added hastily as Misty glared at him, mallet in hand.  
She shrugged. "**Of course, that means that you have to deal with the other sisters, too. And they're a lot nastier than me, kid.**"  
Ash scratched his head. "**Oh, right.**"

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Misty got up and went for a short walk. Ash, who surprisingly still wasn't asleep, followed her.  
"**Hey, Misty.**"  
She turned quickly. "**Oh, hi Ash. What are you doing up? Usually, you're scaring Pokémon away with your incredible snoring by now.**"  
He shrugged and sat down next to her. "**I can't sleep. What about you?**"  
Misty held up a figure as she yawned widely before answering. "**My brain won't shut up.**"  
"**Oh.**"  
They sat in silence for a while.  
"**Misty?**"  
"**Yeah, Ash?**"  
He picked up a twig and nervously started stripping the bark off. "**Did you, really mean what you said. Earlier, I mean. About me, being like a brother...?**"  
Misty shrugged and glanced at him. "**Sure, I guess. I mean, maybe if we weren't so immature, then maybe I might consider going out with you, if you had the guts to ask me that is. But, until then, well...**" she picked up a rock and threw it out off of the cliff they were sitting on. It flew in an arc and finally landed right in the middle of a small pond.  
"**Bulls-eye.**" Misty chuckled before looking at Ash, who was still staring at her, stunned. She sighed. "**Look, Ash. It's just, well, I like being friends with you, and Brock and Tracey, of course. At least with you guys, I know that none of you are hanging out with me just to '_get into my pants_', so to speak. That gets really annoying after a while.**" She rolled her eyes skyward.

"**How about this, Ash.**" Misty suddenly turned and looked directly at him. "**If we still aren't sure how we feel about each other by the time we're both at least seventeen, then let's agree to go out and see what happens, okay?**" she stuck out her hand.  
For the first time in ten minutes, Ash moved. "**Okay, Misty.**" He shook her hand.  
"**Great.**" Misty said, breaking contact. "**Because I really don't wanna ruin our friendship, just because little miss match-maker back there decided to interfere." She jerked her head back towards camp, where May rolled over and started to snore. "Our friendship can survive our arguments. After all, it's lasted this long. But I'm not sure it could survive a relationship. After all, what if it didn't work out? We could never go back to just being friends, because we'd always have the fact that we dated, no matter how briefly.**"  
Ash nodded slowly in agreement. "**I can understand that.**"  
Misty smiled. "**Good, then we have a deal. When you turn seventeen, if you wanna give it a try, you know where to find me, Ashy-boy.**" She stood up, tweaked his ear playfully and turned back to camp. "**Goodnight, Ash.**"  
"**Goodnight, Misty.**" Ash said, getting up. "**I think I can sleep now.**"

Okay, that was kinda fluffy, wasn't it? I came up with this one night as I was half-asleep myself, so don't blame me if it's a little rough. It's amazing the weird thoughts and ideas you can have when your brain's sleep-deprived. It's a good reason to keep a note-book and pencil beside your bed within easy reach so you can jot things down. Who knows how many amazing ideas and inventions never came to be, simply because somebody was just too lazy to wake up enough to write it down. Learn from the past, people.

Also, I'm a Pokeshipper. _The good kind, who doesn't tell people that their ships suck, but shrugs and let them be._ But I also know that they are way too immature to last long in a relationship at their canon ages. She'll either kill him, or end up pregnant, and then kill him. But, given another 8-10 years, who knows? Maybe by then they'll have better control of themselves.


End file.
